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Nowadays companies use materials and processes that we regard as essential to modern living, yet the production of these things often produces hazardous waste and this is a problem for the company that needs to dispose of that waste. Hazardous waste is a problem whenever an oil or gas rig is decommissioned very often there are spills and that waste has to be collected and safely disposed of. As a great number of oil and gas rigs are situated offshore this means that the waste materials accumulated during decommissioning services need to be transported back to the mainland and safely disposed of.
Oil and gas companies in particular may have accidental spills that need to be cleared up, which means that the companies have to have support services to deal with the mess available on a 24/7 basis. Some hazard waste, such as that incurred when an oil or gas platform is decommissioned has to be shipped back to shore where it is then put into a safe storage facility. Failure to deal with hazardous waste in a safe and secure manner is a criminal offence and companies can be fined huge amounts of money and even closed down if they fail to properly comply with the law.

One of the reasons that oil and gas companies need to ensure that the people they contract for decommissioning services should have an impeccable record, is because of the dangers of hazardous waste. It is not unknown for unscrupulous or careless contractors not to dispose of the hazardous waste resulting from decommissioning, in a safe and proper manner. There are limits on the amount of waste that can be put into safe storage facilities and anyone in the UK that stores more than 500 litres or kilos of hazardous waste in one year, has to be registered with the environment agency.

Some companies produce quite a bit less hazardous waste than that mentioned above, but the waste still has to be dealt with in a safe and proper manner. Those contractors involved in decommissioning services for an offshore rig will need to have a consignment note for the collection and removal of any hazardous waste that results from the decommissioning process.

A consignment note is a note that says what sort of waste is being moved and where it is being moved to. When a platform is decommissioned then the resulting waste has to be moved often from an offshore location back to a safe storage facility on the mainland. Hazardous waste is dangerous fro the health of those people who come into contact with it and most people involved in decommissioning will need to wear protective clothing.